


a friend for mother spider

by vampiresuffrage



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Canon compliant for now, M/M, Statement Fic, i just want jon and martin to TALK thanks, its formatted like an episode transcript, martin's childhood!, they dont get together in this but theres Feelings, web!martin sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 11:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20257549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampiresuffrage/pseuds/vampiresuffrage
Summary: Case #0181408Statement of Martin Blackwood, assistant to Peter Lukas, regarding a series of encounters in childhood. Statement taken direct from subject 14th of August, 2018. Recording by Jonathan Sims, the Archivist.





	a friend for mother spider

**Author's Note:**

> this is very different than what i usually write! ive never written in this format before but i think it came out how i wanted! this has lots of spider content so if you have a hard time with that then proceed with caution

[CLICK]

[DOOR OPENING]

[PAPER RUSTLING]

**ARCHIVIST**

Basira, I-Martin? [Shakily] What are-I mean, it's...good to see you.

**MARTIN**

[Strained] Jon, what is your _ plan _ here? Some poor woman says you forced her to give a statement, and now Peter's telling me you haven't been _ feeding yourself,_ and even your-even Georgie Barker is saying you're trying to _destroy_ yourself! What are you _ doing_? Christ Jon, you look worse off than you did after you got kidnapped by _ Nikola Orsinov_.

**ARCHIVIST**

Martin, what-

**MARTIN**

No, Jon. Please don't-don't ask me any questions right now. Just tell me.

**ARCHIVIST**

[Tired sigh] Well. I haven't been starving myself if that's what you're asking, I just. Haven't taken any live statements since Manuela Dominguez, when Basira and I went to Ny-Alesund. The written ones don't feed the Eye to its liking anymore, and Basira has made it very clear that if I do go out and feed it she's going to...deal with me. So I'm...malnourished, I suppose.

**MARTIN**

Oh. Right.

**ARCHIVIST**

Look, Martin. It’s not-

**MARTIN**

Jon, don’t try to pretend it’s less of a big deal than it is. I didn’t come here to listen to you pretend to be alright when you’re clearly not. We aren’t doing that anymore.

**ARCHIVIST**

[Hurriedly] Right, okay. Sure. I’m sorry, I-it’s been difficult. But I’m managing it. I have to.

**MARTIN**

You need live statements to start feeling better again though, right?

**ARCHIVIST**

I think so, but I can't very well go force them out of anyone even if I want to, and nobody's come _ in _ to make a live statement in months. I can get by without, probably.

[DOOR CLOSING]

**MARTIN**

Do you mind if I sit?

**ARCHIVIST**

[Unsure] Of course not, I-what are-

**MARTIN**

Statement of Martin Blackwood, assistant to Peter Lukas, regarding a series of incidents during childhood. Jon?

**ARCHIVIST**

[Hesitant] Are you sure?

**MARTIN**

[Frustrated sigh] Yes, Jon. You're making yourself sick and you said this will help. Go ahead, say your piece. 

**ARCHIVIST**

Okay, um.

[STATIC]

Statement taken direct from subject 14th of August, 2018. Recording by Jonathan Sims, the Archivist. Statement begins.

**MARTIN**

We haven't talked much about our lives outside work? So you'll need some background. Me and my mum lived just the two of us as long as I can remember. Dad left when I was too young to remember anything about him so I was never all that sad about it, but mum never really got over it. I always sort of thought she blamed me for it, and then I found out from Elias that she really did and...that's not what this is about.

Mum did her best for awhile. Worked all the time. She was gone before I left for school every morning and she didn't get back until supper or later most days. I didn't have many friends either because I was too shy to talk to my classmates. 

What I'm saying is that I spent most of my time alone as a kid. I wasn't really sad about it or anything though? I mean, I always had a big imagination and I was pretty independent, I think. Mum bought me toys and books, we had a backyard, and we lived right by some woods so I had plenty to keep myself entertained. I _ was _alone though. I think that's why the spiders noticed me at first. 

The first time, I was watering mum's flowers in the garden. Really, they were more mine than hers I think since I took care of them, but she always seemed so proud of them, so I let them be her thing. Every garden has spiders. Everyone knows that, but it's another thing when they _ want _ you to know they're there. And they always wanted me to know. 

I was seven the first time I remember them talking to me. I-I’m not entirely sure how to describe it, Jon. I was never afraid of them and sometimes I would talk to them while I watered the plants because that’s what kids _ do _ with animals. There was a rather big one on one of the flowers, so I made sure to be careful not to splash it. When I was done, I said “Be careful next time or you’ll get wet and die. I have to water these so they stay pretty for my mum.”

And then it-so the voice was in my head, I think, because obviously spiders don’t have vocal chords or anything. But it answered me. It said “You’re a good little hatchling. I will make sure my children and I stay out of your way when you do your watering.”

I was so _ excited._ I thought I had some sort of magic powers to talk to animals or something. I asked how it could talk to me and I could feel its amusement. It told me that when the spiders meet someone special, they become friends. The spider told me that I was very special, and it wanted me to be its friend. I said I would like that very much, because like I said, they didn’t scare me and I didn’t exactly have other friends. It asked me how long it would be until my mum got home, and I said I didn’t know, but she would be calling our phone soon to make sure I got home safe, so I needed to come inside to listen for it. I invited the spider in with me, but it told me it needed to go catch its lunch, so I left it out there. 

I thought it was the coolest thing that had ever happened to me. I told my mum about it over dinner, but it didn’t get much more than a “That’s nice dear,” out of her. She clearly thought it was just me being a little kid with an active imagination, and that was that. After dinner, I went to bed like normal, and didn’t hear from the spiders again for about a week, I think.

The next time, I was inside making myself a snack after school. I saw a spider web in the corner, and I was convinced that the spider in it was staring right at me. So I waved to it and said hello, and I asked it if it was my friend too. It told me that yes, it was, and that I was a very smart little hatchling indeed for figuring out that if one of them liked me, so did the rest. It told me that all the spiders were going to watch out for me and keep me safe, because that’s what friends do. I asked the spider why they all wanted to be _ my _ friend, and all it said was “The Mother believes you’ll help us in return one day.” It told me that, no, it didn’t mean _ my _ mum. It was the Mother of Spiders that told them I would be a good friend. 

I asked about the Mother because the way the spider talked about her-it seemed like she would be amazing. The spider told me it would take me to her when the time was right, but that I wasn’t ready for that yet. I thought that the spider was wrong about that, but I didn’t want to make my new friend upset with me so I didn’t say so. 

I ate my snack and talked to the spider about school, and it was...nice to have someone to talk to, even if nobody would believe that the spiders actually talked back. They visited me more often after that. Soon, there were spider webs all along my ceiling and under my bed, and they were a constant source of company. I’d mostly stopped telling people about them by the time I was eight because all my classmates said that only babies had imaginary friends, and mum said I needed to stop talking to the spiders and make real friends. 

I was alone even more often when summer came, so I spent even more time with the spiders. One day when I was playing outside, one asked me to come into the woods. It said that they wanted me to see their-their home. I went with them without thinking twice. I mean, they were my friends after all, and they’d spent plenty of time at my house. I trusted them.

More and more of the spiders joined us while we went until I didn’t even need them to give me directions anymore. There were so many that I could just follow. We walked so far into the woods that I had no clue where we were anymore. I remember one of them telling me we were almost there, and then next thing I remember is being back at the treeline behind my house, laying on the ground. 

I had cobwebs on me, and there were spiders crawling all over me, almost completely covering me. I knew they wouldn’t hurt me though? I think they actually might’ve actually carried me back through the woods to my house. They were clearing the webs off of me, one said. They told me it would be impolite to send me home all dirty when I’d been such a good guest. They said the Mother liked me. She wanted to keep me, so I needed to be let go. I didn’t quite understand what that meant then, but now I’m pretty sure it means that if she didn’t like me, the spiders would’ve just eaten me. I guess she wanted to keep watching me, so she had the spiders keep me alive. 

They told me the reason I couldn’t remember their home was that the Mother didn’t want me to have bad dreams. Looking back now, I think that it was just meant to make sure I couldn’t tell anyone where it was. I mean, obviously the Mother of Spiders herself wasn’t there, but I’m sure she would prefer to keep her children’s dens safe. They said that the whole family liked me though, and that the Mother had decided that she liked me so much that when she thought I was ready, she would let me join her family. 

I thought that part was a little weird because I had my own mum, but I was mostly just excited. The spiders had been telling me for months how amazing the Mother was, and how picky she was with the people she chose to care for. I felt _ special _ for being one of those people. The spiders made me feel so special when nobody else gave me the time of day. 

I stayed friends with them for a long time after that. I _ definitely _ didn’t tell people about them anymore. I was old enough that I wouldn’t be a _ baby _ for thinking spiders could talk to me, I would be properly insane. I knew that it was real though, so I kept talking to them when nobody else was around. I visited their den a few more times, but they never let me remember that. I didn’t much like that, but I figured that every friendship had little things that you don’t like, so I didn’t tell them that. 

Things kept going like that until I was 10. That’s when my mum got sick. She had to start working less so she was home more, which meant I couldn’t talk to the spiders as much. By the time I was 11, she couldn’t work at all anymore. I had to start taking care of her-cooking, cleaning, making sure she took her medicine. Things like that. She was there all the time now, and so I had to be more careful than ever.

A month or so after she stopped working was the last time the spiders talked to me. They told me that the Mother said until I pledged myself fully to her and was able to make my mum not notice when I talked to the spiders, they couldn’t speak to me anymore. They said that the Mother would make sure we were taken care of though since I was still special to her. They said they would miss being my friend. 

I cried myself to sleep that night, and I tried to talk to them every day, but they didn’t respond anymore. Then of course my mum heard me trying to talk to them since she was home and our house was rather small. She said she’d have me committed if I kept talking to things that couldn’t talk back like that. So I stopped talking to them too. 

I’d convinced myself I really was imagining it all eventually. It’s normal for little kids to make up things like that, and I figured that since I was such a lonely kid I just kept my imaginary friends around longer I guess. I did always think it was weird that we never seemed to not be able to afford things though. The power never got shut off, mum’s card never got declined when I went grocery shopping, I could buy new clothes when I outgrew mine without any problems. Mum wasn’t working anymore, and I obviously didn’t have a job, but nobody ever said we didn’t have money. 

I remembered the spiders telling me that the Mother would take care of us, and it almost made me think I hadn’t been making everything up. Of course, then I found out what disability payments were and figured mum had probably just applied for disability when she stopped working or something. I tried to rationalize all of it to believe I was just an imaginative kid, even though that didn’t make any sense. I never paid bills and neither did mum, never did her taxes, never had any sort of check-in to make sure mum still needed disability payments. 

Honestly, I didn't think about it all that much though? I _ was _ a kid. It was weird, but I was still a kid so I wasn't really all that worried about money.

I didn't think about any of it until I graduated from school. I thought it might be nice to live on my own, you know? So I started looking into care homes for mum-she'd been getting worse and I really did think she should be given professional care, it wasn't just that I wanted to move away from home-but I realized I didn't have any money of my own. That's when I started applying places and I, uh-I got hired here. Sometimes I wonder if the Mother had anything to do with that-I mean, it shouldn’t be _ that _ difficult to find out someone lied about their degree, right?

When I first got the job I still completely thought I'd been imagining it all as a kid. I didn't actually figure out it all definitely happened until after you started telling us about the different Entities. I almost told you about it as soon as you mentioned the Web for the first time. I mean for God's sake, the spiders at my house told me the name Mother of Spiders more than twenty years ago and then you tell me there's a spider entity that people call the Mother of Puppets? Everything from my childhood made a lot more sense after that [short laugh].

That was when you were trying to figure out the Unknowing though, and you weren’t around much, plus I didn’t think a Web statement would’ve done you much good when you were looking for information on the Stranger. There was just...never a good time to tell you, I guess. I still wonder when the Mother’s going to come back for me and ask me to join her family. She wouldn’t have put so much time into me if she didn’t intend to. I still don’t know what I’m going to do when she does. 

[Clears throat] I-um, I think that’s all. I mean, end statement. Is that enough? Are you feeling any better?

**ARCHIVIST**

[Deep breath] I-yes, I think so. Thank you, Martin. Really.

**MARTIN**

It helped?

**ARCHIVIST**

Yes. It helped. I don’t feel...hungry anymore. Are you-is it alright if I ask questions?

**MARTIN**

I’ll tell you whatever I can about my statement, but if you’re talking about Peter, I can’t tell you about anything yet. Eventually I will but...just, not yet?

**ARCHIVIST**

That’s-okay, sure. No questions about what he’s doing. Can I just ask how he knew I hadn’t been _ feeding _ on people?

**MARTIN**

[Sigh] I told him I wouldn’t work with him unless he at least tried to keep you from getting hurt. From what he’s told me he can’t do much since you’re _ purposely _ putting yourself in danger, but he checks in on you to humor me. I don’t know if he knew you weren’t pulling statements from people anymore from that, or if Elias told him. I’m not entirely sure how much they contact each other?

**ARCHIVIST**

Right. Okay. That...makes sense. 

**MARTIN**

Do...do you have any questions about my statement?

**ARCHIVIST**

Do you truly believe that the Web specifically wanted you here? At the Magnus Institute?

**MARTIN**

I think so. I mean, that makes more sense than Elias hiring me of his own free will knowing I had no qualifications, right? I mean, there’s no way he could’ve guessed that I’d be one of your assistants before you even started working here. I know he’s got powers, but I don’t think he can see the future, you know?

**ARCHIVIST**

If the Web _ has _ been planning something for the Institute for that long...that worries me. Has there been anything since the spiders stopped communicating with you directly that you think was the Web attempting to make contact?

**MARTIN**

I don’t think so? I definitely haven’t talked to any spiders since then [worried laugh]. They, uh-they did stop me from remembering things when I was a kid though. [nervously] So I guess if they did I might not know?

**ARCHIVIST**

Right, well I-I…[sighs]

[PROLONGED PAUSE]

**MARTIN**

Jon?

[CHAIR SCRAPING]

[SOUNDS OF SHIFTING AND RUSTLING]

[A MOMENT OF STATIC]

[Softly, strained] Oh, Jon. 

**ARCHIVIST**

[Muffled] I’m sorry.

**MARTIN**

[Shakily] You don’t have to apologize for needing a hug, Jon. It’s-it’s alright.

**ARCHIVIST**

[Even more muffled] Are you sure?

**MARTIN**

Jon, I wouldn’t still be hugging you back if I wasn’t alright with this. 

**ARCHIVIST**

Right, that’s-thank you. I just-I can't treat this like any other statement, Martin.

[A FEW SECONDS OF SILENCE]

**MARTIN**

I miss you too. 

**ARCHIVIST**

[No longer sounding muffled] You-oh.

**MARTIN**

Peter hasn't been around lately, and I’ve been here by myself worrying about you since last I heard before he left, you and Basira were taking on the Dark and then after you two got back, you weren’t feeding yourself anymore. I needed to see for myself if you were okay. 

**ARCHIVIST**

[Shakily] Martin, I-

**MARTIN**

Look, I-I can’t stay, but I need you to know that. I still...worry about you, and I miss you. 

**ARCHIVIST**

When is he coming back?

**MARTIN**

[Hesitantly] Well, he-he didn't exactly tell me anything. Could be tomorrow, could be in two weeks. He's trying to-[sighs] that's something he likes to keep me wondering about.

**ARCHIVIST**

Can-do you-will you stay until tomorrow then? Just-just until tomorrow.

**MARTIN**

Jon, I-

**ARCHIVIST**

I won’t ask you anything about Peter or what you’re doing with him. You don’t have to tell me anything. You-I’m sure you have a plan. I know-I _ hope _ you’ll tell me eventually, but I won’t ask anything about it tonight. I miss you. 

**MARTIN**

Fine. I-I’ll stay tonight. I need to leave in the morning though in case he gets back early. 

**ARCHIVIST**

You-really?

**MARTIN**

Yeah. I’ll stay for tonight. [sighs] Since I’m already here and talking to you, I guess I can’t make things any worse at this point by staying a bit longer.

**ARCHIVIST**

Thank you Martin. I-thank you.

**MARTIN**

You don’t have to keep thanking me, Jon. Do you-...dinner? I’m guessing you haven’t had any _ food _ today.

**ARCHIVIST**

I-no. I haven’t. I would like that. 

**MARTIN**

Well, let’s go then. Before it gets too late.

**ARCHIVIST**

Right, okay. Let’s go. 

[RUSTLING]

[CLICK]

**Author's Note:**

> after 149 dropped i had to frantically change a few things so it would make sense and the jm interactions in it could keep being something i can frantically cling to for hope until jonny rips my heart out  
catch me on tumblr @ lesbianweb uwu


End file.
